“Thank you!! I attended your demonstration at this years Fungus Fair, and I was so happy to find a Chef that was both down to Earth and professional while keeping your recipes achievable to the average joe, yours truly.” – Marcus P
Welcome to the Santa Cruz 42nd annual Fungus Faire! Three days of fabulous mushrooms tips and tricks, and tables of freshly hunted wild mushrooms (edible and non edible) to view and learn about.
I was one of the featured chefs for the weekend. We taught 4 recipes which can be downloaded here.
For a packed room of 150 students…
We made Roasted Maitake with Dulse (here they are unbaked)
Polenta canapé with Wild Mushroom and Fontina (also unbaked)
Sweet Potato and Wild Mushroom Gratin, and Brussels Sprouts with Truffle Dijon (not pictured).
We also did a mushroom powder taste test. Whirl dried mushrooms into a powder in a coffee grinder or blender. In my opinion the deepest flavor came from dried portobello, shiitake and morel.
All recipes were paired with Fenestra Wines – GSM Rose and 2010 Best CA State Fair Tempranillo.
We also demo’ed a Dried Morel soaked in Cognac with Cream and hosted a Tasting Bar of dried mushroom powders (porcini, morel and shiittake) highlighting ways to season without salt or “umami in a bottle.”
Was it the wine or the wacky mushrooms that got the humors going?
I’ll never tell. 🙂
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